HK Disneyland or Tokyo Disneyland

rosaciri

Mouseketeer
Joined
Jun 15, 2014
Organising a cruise with RCC next year with a stop over to either do HKDL or TDL on the way home.

What would ppl suggest. From what I am reading HKDL is much smaller and quieter than TDL.

We have been to DL Anaheim and we luved it and my DDs had a great time there. Just a little confused about which would be the better park to do out of HKDL or TDL. DDs will be 11 and 6 when traveling. Any recommendations/thoughts/experiences would be appreciated. As we are flying from Barcelona back home after our cruise we would be able to either do a stopover in HK or Tokyo. TIA
 
Tokyo, no contest. I like Hong Kong, but it just isn't on the same level. I would only do HKDL if you really want to hit Mystic Manor and the Grizzly Mountain Mine cars, or if you only have one day but want to do everything.
Even if you only have one day, I would do DisneySea instead. Nothing else like it and a completely unique environment.
 
Tokyo. Tokyo. TOKYO!

But, that will depend upon when you can visit. If you're timing means that you'll be in Tokyo during a busy period, then it might be better to do Hong Kong, especially since you have two children who may not be good with crowds and with potentially spending a lot of time waiting in line for rides, food and entertainment.

In terms of crowds, I think Hong Kong is almost always the better choice and it's generally possible to do the entire park in a single day. Also, if you've only been to a Disney theme park once before, then it's not like your children will be bored going on the "same" rides again.

Also, how long your stopover is and what else you want to do is an important consideration. As the stopover is on the way home, everyone might be feeling tired and may want to do more relaxing activities. If you want to get the very best out of Tokyo Disney, then it's not really a "relaxing" day, since you need to be up early and ready to spend the entire day at the park. So, Hong Kong Disney would probably providing a more relaxing and leisurely visit. Hong Kong Disney also requires two days maximum, whereas to do both Tokyo Disneyland and DisneySea, you really need three days although two days is sufficient during particularly quiet periods.
 
Tokyo. Tokyo. TOKYO!

But, that will depend upon when you can visit. If you're timing means that you'll be in Tokyo during a busy period, then it might be better to do Hong Kong, especially since you have two children who may not be good with crowds and with potentially spending a lot of time waiting in line for rides, food and entertainment.

In terms of crowds, I think Hong Kong is almost always the better choice and it's generally possible to do the entire park in a single day. Also, if you've only been to a Disney theme park once before, then it's not like your children will be bored going on the "same" rides again.

Also, how long your stopover is and what else you want to do is an important consideration. As the stopover is on the way home, everyone might be feeling tired and may want to do more relaxing activities. If you want to get the very best out of Tokyo Disney, then it's not really a "relaxing" day, since you need to be up early and ready to spend the entire day at the park. So, Hong Kong Disney would probably providing a more relaxing and leisurely visit. Hong Kong Disney also requires two days maximum, whereas to do both Tokyo Disneyland and DisneySea, you really need three days although two days is sufficient during particularly quiet periods.


Should of said that our cruise is early October 2017 so we will be on the way home end of October 2017. Not sure what this time of the year is like at Tokyo DL - we will be stopping for 4 or 5 nights on the way home.
 


Since you'll be going in October, I would also take a look at the resorts' Halloween offerings and see if any of the seasonal offerings intrigue you. Both resorts include all offerings free with your admission.

Both Tokyo parks get a lot of seasonal shows and decorations, with a brand new Halloween parade every few years (running in addition to the normal daytime and nighttime parades) and Haunted Mansion Holiday. There are also select days where guests can dress up as their favorite Disney characters, and the amount of work the Japanese put into their costumes is worth seeing if that happens while you're there.

Hong Kong also has seasonal shows (not as many, but some), a Halloween Parade, and they get the Ghost Galaxy overlay for Space Mountain. The big difference with Hong Kong's events is that Hong Kong's Halloween is actually SCARY with real haunted houses! So if the novelty of a scary Halloween event at a Disney park thrills you, you may want to keep that in mind.

So take that into consideration as well.

Pirates(Tokyo still probably wins!)Mansion
 
TOYKO!!!!

It was HANDS DOWN my favorite of all the disney parks in the world, the themeing, the entertainment, the rides, the cast members, food, everything was absolutely perfect. Disneysea is one of the greatest! AND their HALLOWEEN STUFF, MAN!!! Incredible!!

We were just there this past early Oct (11-14) and absolutely loved it. We DID NOT land on the "costume days" which made our days less busy (though Oct 10th was a holiday of somekind, so look into that) and we managed to do nearly everything we wanted. There is MUCH more to see in Tokyo, so I suggest doing it if you have a MINIMUM of 3 days (preferably 4).

As for Halloween, both parks were completely decked out, special merchandise and food everywhere, a special Halloween parade ran twice during the day, and over at DisneySea they had some roaming villain characters special, and a special Villains World show on the harbour that was incredible!

Now, Hong Kong is a FANTASTIC choice if you have less than 3 days, we did 2 days in the park and did everything we wanted to, somethings more than twice lol. They have some incredible rides, Mystic Manor & Grizzly gulch, Wondrous Book & FOLK are some top of the line entertainment, and if you love Disneyland, you're sure to love HKDL, it's bizarre how uch of a carbon copy it is at points. It's a very small park, but it's a very quaint and nice park! They do have some special halloween entertainment/merch and stuff as well, but their halloween parade replaces Paint the Night, so be aware of that kind of stuff in HK. We were there mid Nov, so I can't comment too much on that
 


Since you'll be going in October, I would also take a look at the resorts' Halloween offerings and see if any of the seasonal offerings intrigue you. Both resorts include all offerings free with your admission.

Both Tokyo parks get a lot of seasonal shows and decorations, with a brand new Halloween parade every few years (running in addition to the normal daytime and nighttime parades) and Haunted Mansion Holiday. There are also select days where guests can dress up as their favorite Disney characters, and the amount of work the Japanese put into their costumes is worth seeing if that happens while you're there.

Hong Kong also has seasonal shows (not as many, but some), a Halloween Parade, and they get the Ghost Galaxy overlay for Space Mountain. The big difference with Hong Kong's events is that Hong Kong's Halloween is actually SCARY with real haunted houses! So if the novelty of a scary Halloween event at a Disney park thrills you, you may want to keep that in mind.

So take that into consideration as well.

Pirates(Tokyo still probably wins!)Mansion

Actually HK in 2015 didn't do haunted houses just two external events. I am not sure if cutting back is part of an ongoing trend. We still really enjoyed it and the make up and costumes were well done but it was nothing like what I have read used to be there. I didn't check to see if it was the same in 2016. I concur Tokyo Disney would win hands down but yes, HK is a small manageable park for a more relaxing end to a trip.
 

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